Restaurants in Watsonville

The chefs at Surfrider Café don't need to look far for inspiration. Highly ranked by Yelp reviewers, beyond its menu of entrees made from local, sustainably grown ingredients, the restaurant also serves craft beers from its own Santa Cruz microbrewery, Boulder Creek Brewery, during daily happy hours. Veggies such as crispy artichoke hearts and grilled mushrooms find their way into appetizers, sandwiches, and burgers. Desserts range from housemade brownies to organic peanut-butter chocolate pie. Furthering its commitment to the community, Surfrider Café contributed more than $25,000 to local schools and nonprofits during 2011 and 2012.

From a business started in 1979 inside a tiny house on Mission Street, Saturn Cafe has grown into a green-certified restaurant filled with decorated tables, colorful booths, and a retro feel. Every night chefs whip up local and organic ingredients into vegan and vegetarian versions of traditional American diner staples.

In the kitchen, cooks prepare award-winning fries in trans-fat free oil that they recycle into bio-diesel fuel, and craft a BLT on sourdough with fakin' bacon. Skilled hands assemble omelets with organic eggs, red onions, and red chard, and whip up vegan and vegetarian milkshakes to wash down wheat- and gluten-free bites.

Owner and chef Ayoma Wilen took the reins at Pearl of the Ocean in 2010, and that year, the restaurant was named Best New Restaurant by both the Santa Cruz Weekly and Santa Cruz Good Times. Focusing on fresh, organic ingredients, Ayoma oversees the vegetarian-focused menus that outline delectable arrangements of locally sourced ingredients, including some culled from the area’s farmers markets, and Sri Lankan spices. These arrangements are manifested in dishes as colorful and complex as a 20-sided Rubik’s Cube. Pearl of the Ocean’s staff also pours a variety of libations and non-alcoholic beverages, such as the spicy chai tea, and their signature drink, Kiss of the Island Princess, is composed of Montresor Prosecco, hibiscus flower, and love potion.